Following more than 25 years of service to Drake University, Charles Edwards, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to retire

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Charles (Charlie) Edwards, dean of Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA) and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), announced today that he will retire effective May 31, 2014.

“I would like to thank Charlie for his service to Drake, which began as a member of the board of trustees in 1987,” says Drake University President David Maxwell. “Charlie has been a tremendous asset to the University and the community as a trustee, dean, and colleague, as well as chair of the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation.”

Edwards was named dean of the SJMC in 2002 and of the CBPA in 2003. Edwards came to Drake after a distinguished journalism career during which he served as publisher of The Des Moines Register. With his direction, the paper won three Pulitzer Prizes.

“The colleges’ students experienced great success upon graduation under Charlie’s leadership,” says Drake University Provost Deneese Jones. “Due in part to his focus on career services programs, 98.8 percent of the CBPA’s 2013 graduating class and 99 percent of the SJMC’s 2013 graduating class had jobs or were enrolled in graduate school within six months of commencement.

Among many other accomplishments as dean, Edwards led the creation of what is now the School of Actuarial Science and secured its designation as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries. Additionally, enrollment in the CBPA increased more than 40 percent over the last decade.

“I am proud of my record at Drake first as trustee and later as dean,” says Edwards. “Fundraising efforts positively impacted the student experience through the creation and support of new centers of entrepreneurial management and data analytics in the CBPA and magazine studies in the SJMC. In retirement, I am looking forward to continuing my work in K–12 public education as a member of the Iowa State Board of Education.”

Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese (Terri) M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been appointed interim dean of the CBPA and will begin on June 1, 2014.

Vaughan is a nationally respected leader and expert within the insurance industry, with significant ties to Drake. Her previous academic roles include service as the Robb B. Kelley Distinguished Professor of Insurance and Actuarial Science (2005–2009), a position in which she focused on the regulation and management of financial institutions, and as director of the Drake Insurance Center (1988–1994). From 2005 to 2009 she served as co-editor, then editor of the Journal of Insurance Regulation. In addition, she was awarded outstanding teacher of the year by Drake’s CBPA in 1994.

“I am thrilled to be rejoining the Drake community,” says Vaughan. “I know from experience Drake's strong commitment to educational excellence, and I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the college, its students, and its faculty.”

Vaughan will guide the process to position the college for its programmatic accreditation application next spring and continue the college’s ongoing commitment to prepare leaders for the 21st century. “We have great confidence in Terri’s leadership and are excited to welcome her back to Drake,” says Maxwell. “She brings to campus a mix of academic background and industry experience that will benefit the entire University. Terri returns to a college whose faculty and administration are dedicated to student development, learning, and success.”

As the longest serving commissioner of the Iowa Insurance Division in state history (1994–2004), Vaughan worked under Republican and Democratic administrations. She later was appointed chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2009–2012). In the corporate world, Vaughan is a director on the boards of Verisk Analytics, Validus Holdings, IFG Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. She has previously served on the boards of The Principal Financial Group, Endurance Specialty Holdings, and EMC Insurance Companies.

Vaughan holds a B.B.A. with majors in insurance and economics from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in managerial science and applied economics from the University of Pennsylvania.